Ajay Devgn – the new King of Comedy

MUMBAI: Ajay Devgn who started his career with Phool Aur Kaante was best known for his action movies but action is certainly not what he seems to be doing these days.

He has now become the King of comedy, with his recent hat trick of Golmaal, Golmaal Returns and All The Best. The success of these movies has resulted in the actor being flooded with offers of comic roles.

What’s more! The actor’s forthcoming release Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge? co starring Paresh Rawal and Konkona Sen Sharma is also a laugh riot. The film, produced by Amita Pathak and Warner Bros (India), is slated to release across the world on 5 March.

Director of Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge? Ashwni Dhir says, “Ajay is a first-rate actor. You can give him just about anything to do; whether it is action, comedy or drama. He is a natural in front of the camera.”

Devgn says, “Our generation didn’t have the privilege of working with masters like Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Basu Chatterjee and even Gulzar saab, who made some really amazing social films with a comic twist. I agreed to Atithi… almost minutes after I heard the first draft of the script, because to me, this film fit into that genre of Hrishida’s films. Films like Chupke Chupke, Bawarchi, Rajnigandha, Khubsoorat, Angoor and Golmaal (Amol Palekar) made by stalwarts like Hrishida, Basuda and Gulzar saab tickled your funny bone, but they also had a soul.”

“Atithi … is from the school of film-making that made a huge impact through the ’70s and ’80s. Yet the film has a contemporary look. Believe me, every time I say I will run away from comedy, comedy chooses me. After Atithi… I’ll plunge headlong into Golmaal-3. Sometimes, I think actors don’t choose a role, a role chooses them. When you deliberately resist something, it has a way of following you.They say man proposes, god disposes. For actors, it should be ‘An actor proposes, a filmmaker disposes’. Amitabh Bachchan was an angry young man and then did some delectable comedies. I was the action guy who went into comedy. Though I keep saying I want to get back to action flicks, I will trust my instincts and accept a good comedy if it comes my way,” adds Devgn.

He has a number of movies lined up for release this year including Prakash Jha’s Rajneeti, Toonpur Ka Superhero along with wife Kajol, Milan Luthria’s Once Upon A time In Mumbai, Kumar Mangat’s Garam Hawa and Rohit Shetty’s Golmaal 3.

Well, with Devgn wanting to shift back to action movies in the near future we surely hope he is enjoying his current status as Bollywood’s King of Comedy.